14 April 2013

Telling Stories Workshop - Cairo - Day 1

8 April 2013


Yesterday I left Leipzig in a literal fog and arrived in Cairo in a sandstorm. With special thanks to The Palmer Foundation for funding the equipment and training, I have come to teach documentary photography to some street youth through the non-profit, FACE, as well as to train their staff in self-documenting the organization's endeavors. Hala McIver, Director for FACE USA, and I are spending our evenings in a humble, yet charming hotel in Heliopolis, near Korba - a popular shopping area. It's best perk is the fantastic Indian restaurant just off the small lobby... perfect for this vegan blogger.


Each day we will be traveling out to Salam City where we are based at FACE Salam Children's Center (FACE stands for Foundation to Aid Children in Egypt).

The first day is always a crapshoot. I try to expect nothing, which in turn (I feel) makes everything interesting. And today did not disappoint. We did a run-through with the staff so:
  • the could get familiar with the material and to aid in translation
  • I could ensure there was nothing untoward or offensive in the images in my presentation.

After a con-call for the top staff took away three of my audience, we found ourselves with what would prove to be our core group of four guys: Mohamed, Mohamed Hassanein, Ahmad, and Hassan. All are full-time staff with FACE (having studied social work in their schooling). Each has a remarkable grace about them: you feel it when you meet them and you see it in the way they interact with the boys.


Forget about rigid plans and processes. In a foreign country with a language barrier, things can quickly take a life of their own. And so, having finished a basic overview of composition and lighting in photography, I was tricked into launching an introduction to Lightroom, something not scheduled until the second week. But hey, as an avowed techno-geek who views any day with a BH Photo-Video box at the door as holiday — I can understand their impatience to know everything. NOW! (And there's not only the verbal language barrier, there's the operating system barrier as well – PC vs. Mac. And Arabic keyboard vs. English.

Loving challenges as I do... this is Heaven!

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